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MESSAGE 


OF  HIS  EXCELLENCY 


JAMES  E.  ENGLISH, 


GOVERNOR  OF  CONNECTICUT, 


TO    THE 


LEGISLATURE  OF  THE  STATE, 


MAY  SESSION,  1867. 


gvitttftt  hij  tQxC^tx  of  i\\t  ^icoislature. 


HARTFORD: 
CASE,  LOCKWOOD  AND  COMPANY,  PRINTERS 

1867. 


MESSAGE 


OF  HIS  EXCELLENCY 


JAMES  E.  ENGLISH,^ 


GOYERIOE  OF  COMECTICUT, 


TO    THE 


LEGISLATURE  OF  THE  STATE, 


MAT  SESSION,  1867. 


^vintcxT  by  (!)v(Uv  of  i\\t  i^^oi.olatuvc. 


HARTFORD: 
CASE,  LOCKWOOD  AND  COMPANY,  PRINTERS. 

1867. 


MESSAGE. 


Fellow-Citizens  of  the  Senate  and 

THE  House  of  Hepresentatives  : 

In  entering  upon  the  duties  to  which  I  have  been  called  at 
this  interesting  period  of  our  history,  I  am  impressed  with 
the  consciousness  of  my  inability  to  meet  the  expectations  of 
those  who  have  so  generously  honored  me  with  the  trust ; 
and  I  should  be  destitute  of  feeling  were  I  not  deeply  affected 
by  the  confidence  reposed  in  me  by  my  fellow-citizens. 

national  affairs. 

The  situation  of  public  affairs  is  in  every  aspect  important. 
Two  years  have  elapsed  since  our  country  emerged  from  a 
civil  war  such  as  the  world  had  never  witnessed  ;  a  war 
had  been  waged  to  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  federal 
Constitution  and  the  integrity  of  the  National  Union.  Over 
the  calamities  of  that  unhappy  conflict  which  desolated  so 
large  a  portion  of  our  country  and  carried  sorrow  into  so 
many  households,  we  long  shall  mourn  ;  but  as  citizens  of  a 
common  country  we  should  strive  to  extinguish  the  vindictive* 
resentments  it  engendered. 

The  right  of  a  State  voluntarially  to  withdraw  from  the 
Union  hasjbeen  abandoned  by  those  who  attempted  to  carry 
it  into  effect.  Four  years  of  sanguinary  warfare  brought  this 
result  to  the  country ;  and  yet  the  great  object  of  that  war 
has  thus  far  been  defeated.     The   Union   is   not  restored. 


Ten  States  are,  by  the  action  of  Congress,  denied  all  partici- 
pation in  the  National  Government,  the  laws  of  which  they 
are  required  to  obey.  Measures  such  as  these  tend  to  empire, 
not  to  union.  If  persisted  in  they  must  inevitably  destroy 
the  federative  character  of  our  government,  and  transform 
the  Eepublic  into  a  despotism.  The  course  of  legislation 
pursued  by  Congress  towards  the  ten  States  of  the  South,  is, 
in  my  judgment,  wholly  unwarranted  by  our  fundamental 
law,  and  as  fatal  to  the  Union  and  the  Constitution  as  the 
principle  of  secession  which  has  been  suppressed. 

From  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  there  have  been  con- 
fhcting  opinions  and  principles  in  regard  to  the  powers  which 
have  been  delegated  to  the  Federal  Government  and  those 
which  have  been  reserved  to  the  States.  In  the  opinion  of 
one  portion  of  our  countrymen  the  concentration  and  exer- 
cise of  more  power  than  was  granted,  is  essential  to  give 
strength  and  efficacy  to  the  central  Government.  Another 
portion  insist  that  the  authority  conferred  was  ample — that 
indeed  its  tendency  is  constantly  aggressive  and  increasing, 
encroaching  upon  the  reserved  rights  of  the  States  and  upon 
the  rights  of  the  people,  and  that  if  not  carefully  held  in 
check,  all  the  important  powers  of  the  government  will  be 
ultimately  absorbed  in  one  great  central  empire.  And 
around  these  conflicting  opinions  political  organizations  grew 
up  at  an  early  day  in  our  history. 

Until  a  recent  period,  the  good  sense,  virtue  and  patriotism 
of  our  people  so  modified  and  tempered  the  excess  of  party 
spirit,  that  the  public  tranquillity  has  been  preserved  and  the 
government  and  laws  universally  respected.  But  the  passions 
of  men  at  last  gained  sway.  The  restraints  of  the  Constitu- 
tion chafed  upon  those  who  were  striving  only  for  political 
power.  One  extreme  begat  another,  until  a  large  portion  of 
the  people  of  the  slave-holding  States  madly  took  up  arms  to 
maintain  the  asserted  right  of  secession.  Few  will  question 
the  sincerity  of  most  of  those  who  voluntarily  took  part  in 
this  armed  resistance.  The  sufferings,  hardships  and  sacri- 
fices they  endured,  too  clearly  attest  it. 


Overpowered  by  the  armies  of  the  Republic,  they  surrendered, 
acknowledged  their  allegiance  to  the  Government  which  they 
had  opposed,  and  accepted  the  legal  consequences  of  their 
acts.  Their  immense  armies  quietly  dispersed  to  their  homes 
under  the  terms  of  the  surrender,  and  resumed  their  peaceful 
avocations. 

To  bring  order  out  of  chaos — to  restore  to  their  legitimate 
functions  the  State  anthorities,  and  to  re-establish  their  broken 
relations  with  the  Federal  Government,  became  at  once  a 
work  of  necessity.  As  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  armies, 
President  Lincoln  addressed  himself  to  that  work.  Under 
his  plan,  matured  by  President  Johnson,  the  States  were  re- 
organized. In  obedience  to  its  requirments,  their  Constitu- 
tions and  laws  were  changed,  and  by  the  act  of  the  people  of 
each  of  those  States,  slavery  was  forever  abolished.  By  this 
process  the  re-establishment  of  the  Union  was  essentially  con- 
summated. Little  more  was  thenceforward  required  for  the 
country  to  move  onward  in  a  harmonious  and  prosperous 
career,  than  the  admission  of  Senators  and  Representatives 
from  those  States  to  seats  in  Congress. 

Unfortunately  the  tendency  to  centralization  had  received 
new  impetus  during  the  war,  consequent  on  the  exercise  of 
extraordinary  powers  by  the  Government,  and  this  developed 
a  new  and  extreme  partizan  spirit.     It  demanded  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  late  insurrectionary  States  from  any  constitutional 
rights  within  the  Union.     Assuming  that  tlie  war  in  its  prac- 
tical results  was  a  failure,  that  the  Union   is  really  divided, 
tliat  the  inhabitants  of  the  ten  States  which  combined  urder 
the   so-called  confederacy,  are  alien  enemies,  and  with   the 
exception  of  the  blacks,  are  to  be  treated  as  a  conquered  and 
subjugated   people.  Congress   has   arbitrarily   excluded  the 
Senators  and  Representatives  of  these  States  from  the  halls  of 
legislation,  and  refused  .even  to  examine  their  credentials. 
By  this  means,  Congress  has  taken  possession  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  under  the  dictation  of  a  committee,  whose  sessions 
have  been  held  in  secret,  has  set  aside  some  of  the  most  im- 
important  and  salutary  provisions  of  the   Constitution,  and 
even  menanccd  with  its  power  the  independent  action  of  the 
judiciary. 


The  legislation  of  the  Thirty-Ninth  Congress  was,  to  a 
large  extent,  a  series  of  usurpations  and  infractions  of  the 
Constitution,  commencing  with  propositions  to  enforce 
amendments  of  that  instrument',  in  thejnception  of  which 
nearly  one-third  of  the  States  and  fully  one-third  of  the 
people,  had  no  voice,  and  eventuating  in  placing  that  people 
in  a  time  of  profound  peace,  under  military  domination. 

The  bill  to  establish  military  governments  over  the  ten 
Southern  States,  and  which  assumes  to  annul  the  State  and 
municipal  governments  and  the  legal  tribunals  of  that  portion 
of  our  country,  has  justly  alarmed  the  apprehensions  of  con- 
siderate and  reflecting  citizens.  It  is  in  effect  establishing 
martial  law  over  those  States.  But  whence  does  Congress 
derive  the  power  to  subject  any  portion  of  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States  to  martial  law  ?  Martial  law  is  not  military 
law.  It  embraces  tlie  citizen  as  well  as  the  soldier.  It  is 
the  substitution  of  the  will  of  the  commanding  officer  in  an 
enemy's  country  in  time  of  war  for  the  muncipal  law  which 
previously  prevailed.  It  is  a  creature  of  necessity,  and 
exists  only  Avhere  no  muncipal  law  is  in  force,  or  where  the 
success  of  military  operations  renders  its  suspension  for  the 
time  being  necessary.  The  deliberate  enactment  of  martial 
law  by  a  legislature  is  a  solecism.  For  a  legislature  has 
time  and  opportunity  to  enact  muncipal  laws  to  be  admin- 
istered by  civil  tribunals  in  conformity  to  the  Constitution  or 
organic  law.  Congress  has  no  power  not  granted  to  it  by  the 
Constitution,  and  martial  law  is  something  wholly  witliout 
the  Constitution,  existing  only  by  the  absence  of  law.  It  has 
no  more  power  under  the  Constitution  to  establish  military 
governments  in  the  Southern  States  than  to  institute  an 
order  of  nobility  in  New  England. 

Within  tlie  last  month  it  has  been  authoritatively  declared 
by  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England,  in  a  notable  case,  that 
tlie  power  to  establish  martial  law  has  never  belonged  to  the 
British  Crown,  under  any  circumstances,  and  whether  in  the 
colonies  or  at  home  ;  and  that  "  it  never  should  be  forgotten 
that  whatever  might  be  the  charge  of  which  a  man  might  be 


accused,  though  he  might  be  a  rebel  and  the  worst  traitor 
that  was  ever  brought  to  the  block,  yet,  until  he  was  con- 
victed and  until  his  life  was  taken,  he  was  still  a  British  sub- 
ject, entitled  when  tried  to  those  safeguards  which  were  of 
the  essence  of  justice." 

It  is  strange  indeed  that  this  power,  so  extraordinary  that 
no  British  Sovereign  ever  dared  to  claim  it  as  a  prerogative 
of  his  crown,  can  be  supposed  to  reside  in  the  constitution  of 
a  republic,  establislied  by  a  people  who  revolted  against  Great 
Britain  that  they  might  better  secure  their  liberties  by  the 
safeguards  of  a  written  constitution  with  limited  and  well 
defined  powers. 

But  the  evil  consequences  of  this  legislation  do  not  stop 
with  the  establishment  of  martial  law.  Congress  has  assumed 
that  power  only  for  the  purpose  of  more  thoroughly  accom- 
plishing the  subversion  of  State  authority.  By  the  military 
arm  it  has  not  only  stricken  down  all  local  civil  government 
in  ihose  States,  but,  by  its  aid,  it  determines  who  shall,  and 
who  shall  not,  participate  in  forming  the  governments  that 
may  be  allowed  to  them  for  the  regulation  of  their  local  con- 
cerns. It  assumes  the  power  to  disfranchise  the  white  inhabi- 
tants of  those  States  and  to  enfranchise  the  black — thus  con- 
demning without  conviction  or  trial  a  large  portion  of  their 
intelligent  population,  and  placing  the  political  power  in  the 
hands  of  those  who  have  never  participated  in  the  affairs  of 
government,  and  a  large  majority  of  whom  cannot  read  the 
ballots  they  are  authorized  to  cast.  This  is  not  reconstruc- 
tion. It  is  not  a  measure  of  peace, 'but  a  measure  of  war. 
Local  self-government  is  the  very  corner-stone  of  our  Kepub- 
lican  fabric.  All  stable  governments  recognize  its  power  as  a 
mere  principle  of  governmental  policy.  For  a  Republic  to 
discard  it,  is  suicidal. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  when  these  extraordinary 
powers  were  assumed  by  Congress,  our  armies  had  been  with- 
drawn and  disbanded.  Peace  had  been  proclaimed.  Con- 
gress itself  had  acknowledged  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion 
by  a  public  act.  All  departments  of  government,  State  and 
National,  were  peacefully  and  without  obstruction  exercising 


their  functions  in  those  States.  The  people  were  adapting 
themselves  with  unanimity  and  good  feeling,  and  with  remark- 
able order,  to  the  changed  social  condition  which  followed  the 
abolition  of  slavery  and  the  disbandment  of  their  armies. 

If  Congress  can  thus  legislate  for  those  States  it  is  not  dif- 
ficult to  foresee,  in  the  not  distant  future,  like  interference  in 
other  States.  If  these  powers,  thus  exercised,  have  been 
rightfully  exercised,  then  the  Constitution  of  Connecticut 
and  the  ancient  right  of  the  people,  so  often  asserted  when 
a  colony  of  Great  Britain,  to  "  regulate  their  internal  affairs 
in  their  own  way,"  are  henceforth  subject  to  the  will  or  ca- 
price of  a  Congressional  majority. 

The  Constitution  requires  that  the  President  shall  take 
care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed  ;  but  Congress  has 
seen  fit  to  change  the  prescribed  time  of  its  meeting,  so  as  to 
secure  a  continuous  session  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  laws 
by  its  own  decrees,  and  to  hold  the  constitutional  authority 
of  the  Executive  subject  to  its  will.  For  this  change,  un- 
called for  and  unexpected,  the  country  was  unpreijared.  In 
consequence  of  this,  Connecticut  was  unrepresented  in  the 
popular  branch  during  the  late  session,  convened  at  an  extra- 
ordinary time,  during  which  laws  of  momentous  interest 
were  hurriedly  passed  in  the  absence  of  the  Representatives  of 
seventeen  of  the  thirty-seven  States  of  the  Union.  So  broken 
and  depleted  was  this  fragmentary  Congress  that  it  did  not 
venture  to  appoint  the  regular  standing  committees,  though 
adopting  without  hesitation,  laws  of  vital  consequence  to  a 
large  section  of  our  common  country,  and  in  conflict  with 
the  settled  policy  of  our  Republican  system. 

In  this  connection  I  may  with  propriety  allude  to  the  course 
of  the  Senate  in  arrogating  the  power  to  select,  as  well  as  to 
confirm,  and  in  dictating  to  the  President  in  regard  to  his  ap- 
pointments. While  the  President  is  responsible  for  the  faith- 
ful execution  of  the  laws,  the  Senate,  which  is  irresponsible, 
by  an  abuse  of  power,  refuses  to  allow  him  to  select  agents  in 
whom  he  has  confidence,  but  insists  that  he  shall  only  appoint 
those  who  are  opposed  to  him,  his  measures,  and  the  policy 
which  he  believes  to  be  for  the  interest  of  the  country.     Es- 


timable  laeii  of  admitted  ability  and  integrity,  many  of  them 
having  served  with  fidelity  through  the  war,  have  been,  thus 
rejected  for  no  other  reason  than  that  they  had  received  the 
confidence  of  the  President. 

It  was  in  pursuance  of  this  purpose  to  absorb  within  its 
grasp  the  functions  which  legitimately  appertain  to  the  other 
branches  of  the  Government,  that  it  was  proposed  to  take  the 
pardoning  power  from  the  Executive  where  the  Constitution 
has  placed  it,  and,*by  an  expost  facto  proceeding,  confer  it  in 
certain  contingencies  upon  Congress.  "When  the  insurgent 
armies  surrendered,  their  soldiers  became  amenable  to  the 
then  existing  laws.  It  certainly  could  not  have  been  sup- 
posed that  they  were  to  be  prosecuted  under  new  and 
different  laws  which  were  thereafter  to  be  enacted.  Yet  it  is 
a  lamentable  fact  that  Congress  during  the  past  two  years  has 
employed  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  its  time  in  devising 
new  laws  for  the  punishment  of  past  offences — a  proceeding 
bad  in  policy  and  repugnant  to  the  great  principles  on  which 
free  governments  are  founded,  and  to  the  common  sentiment 
of  an  enlightened  age. 

I  have  thus  particularly  brought  to  your  attention  these 
acts  of  the  Federal  Congress,  because,  in  my  judgment,  their 
tendency  is  to  revolutionize  the  character  of  our  government ; 
and,  therefore,  they  vitally  concern  the  people  of  Connecticut. 
That  the  inhabitants  of  the  proscribed  States  will  peacefully 
submit  to  the  rule  that  has  been  provided  for  them,  no  one 
can  doubt.  Their  helplessness  to  do  otherwise,  if  nothing- 
else,  assures  this.  That  a  Union  of  co-equal  States  under 
the  Constitution  may  result  from  their  submission,  is  my 
most  fervent  hope.  But  questions  of  serious  import  to  us 
will  still  remain.  Will  the  precedent  thus  set  by  Congress 
be  forgotten  ?  Will  the  Constitution  which  is  impotent  to 
restrain  the  fury  of  a  majority  to-day,  become  the  sacred 
sliield  it  once  was  for  the  minority  to-morrow  ?  Will  the 
sword  that  is  so  easily  drawn  to  establish  a  Constitution  now, 
be  allowed  to  rest  in  its  sheath  if  needed  to  overthrow  a  Con- 
stitution hereafter  ?  It  has  been  the  honest  boast  and  just 
glory  of  the  soldier  that  he  has  saved  to  our  people  their  old 


10 

flag  without  a  star  displaced  or  a  stripe  broken — but  useless 
has  been  the  sacrifice,  if  the  people  no  longer  retain  their  faith 
in  constitutional  government.  If  the  charter  of  our  liberties 
has  been  lost,  nothing  has  been  won. 

More  than  ever  at  the  present  time  should  any  infraction 
of  the  Constitution  be  regarded  as  a  public  calamity.  By 
the  vast  increase  of  our  public  indebtedness  every  question 
which  concerns  the  government  credit  comes  home  to  every 
person  in  the  land.  By  that  credit  all  vallies  are  measured. 
It  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  our  wealth,  our  industry — of 
society  itself.  No  calamities  of  the  past  can  exceed  those 
which  will  befall  us  if  the  public  credit  should  give  way. 
But  how  is  it  to  be  preserved  if  the  supreme  law  of  the  land 
is  itself  repudiated  ?  In  what  market  of  the  *  world  is 
that  government  trusted  which  is  swayed  by  revolutionary 
factions,  intent  only  upon  the  gratification  of  ambition  or  the 
indulgence  of  partisan  resentment  ?  Had  the  efforts  of  Con- 
gress been  properly  directed,  the  industry  and  trade  of  the 
whole  country  would  long  since  have  felt  the  grateful  influ- 
ence, and  the  public  credit  been  strengthened. 

It  has  long  been  the  pride  of  the  people  of  Connecticut  that 
within  their  borders  the  first  experiment  was  made  to  govern 
man  by  a  written  Constitution.  It  is  not  strange  that  they 
have  been  quick  to  observe  those  signs  which  betoken  danger 
to  their  chosen  Government.  They  are  a  law-abiding  and 
freedom-loving  people ;  but,  so  long  as  their  own  history  is 
remembered,  they  cannot  forget  that  force,  oppression,  mili- 
tary authority,  are  not  the  proper  instruments  to  bind  a  Na. 
tion  together — that  no  Government  can  endure  that  has  not 
its  foundations  laid  in  tlie  affections  of  the  people. 

Trusting  in  the  intelligence  of  the  American  people,  let  us 
indulge  the  hope  that,  from  our  experience  of  danger,  we  may 
learn  to  secure  our  future  safety, — and  that  when  calmer 
times  succeed,  the  true  principles  of  our  republican  system 
may  he  re-established  by  means  of  a  legally  constituted  Con- 
vention, and  that  the  foundations  of  the  Union  shall  be  re-laid 
upon  the  enduring  principles  of  civil  liberty  and  the  equal 
rights  of  the  States,  with  the  limited  powers  of  the_  Federal 


11 

Government  and  the  indissolubility  of  the  Union  so  clearly 
defined  that  our  continuance  as  a  people — one  and  indivisi- 
ble— may  be  perpetual. 

The  paramount  importance  which  the  events  of  the  past 
few  years  has  given  to  subjects  affecting  the  federal  relations 
of  our  State,  is  my  justification  for  dwelling  thus  at  length 
upon  them  at  the  present  time.  To  those  matters  which  are 
especially  committed  to  our  local  legislation,  I  now  beg  leave 
to  call  your  attention. 

FINANCIAL  CONDITION. 

From  the  detailed  reports  of  the  Treasurer  and  Comptroller, 
which  wilt  be  laid  before  you,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  financial 
condition  of  the  State,  at  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year  endinu- 
March  31st,  1867,  is  quite  satisfactory.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  the  year  the  funded  debt  of  the  State  amounted  to  ten 
millions  four  hundred  thousand  dollars,  ($10,400,000,)  with 
a  Sinking  Fund  of  one  million  two  hundred  and  eleven  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  sixty-seven  dollars  and  thirty-five 
cents,  (§1,211,767.35.)  The  debt  of  four  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  which  was  due  a  year  ago  from  the  State  to  tlie  Sink- 
ing F'lnd,  has  been  provided  for  by  the  purchase  of  State 
bonds  to  that  amount,  which  have  been  placed  to  the  credit  of 
the  Fund.  A  further  purchase  of  State  bonds  has  been  made 
to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-one  thousand  six 
hundred  dollars,  which  are  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Treasurer, 
and,  as  they  are  no  longer  needed  for  the  purposes  contem- 
plated by  the  law  authorizing  their  issue,  I  would  recommend 
that  the  Treasurer  and  Comptroller  be  directed  to  cancel  and 
destroy  the  same. 

The  Sinking  Fund  has  been  increased  during  tlie  last  year 
seventy-four  thousand  dollars,  which  amount  has  been  invest- 
ed in  State  bonds,  making  the  whole  amount  of  the  Fund,  at 
the  close  of  the  fiscal  year,  one  million  two  hundred  and 
eighty-four  thousand  three  hundred  and  seven  dollars  and 
thirty-five  cents,  ($1,284,307.35.)  The  funded  debt  has  been 
reduced  the  past  year  five  hundred  and  seventy-one  thousand 


12 

six  luinclrccl  dollars,  leaving  the  total  amount,  at  the  present 
time,  nine  millions  eight  hundred  and  twenty-eight  thousand 
four  hundred  dollars,  ($9,828,400.)  If  against  this  we  place 
the  amount  of  the  Sinking  Fund,  and  the  market  value  of  the 
Bank  stock  owned  hy  the  State,  ($383,500,)  together  with 
the  cash  on  hand  at  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year,  (amounting 
to  $499,115.09.)  it  will  leave  the  total  liabilities  of  the  State, 
over  and  above  its  assets,  seven  millions  six  hundred  and 
sixty-one  thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy-seven  dollars 
and  fifty-six  cents,  ($7,661,477.56.) 

The  State  tax  of  three  and  a  half  mills  on  the  dollar,  real- 
ized the  last  year  a  revenue  of  one  million  fifteen  thousand 
forty-five  dollars  and  ninety-eight  cents,  ($1,015,045,98.) 
while  the  receipts  from  other  sources  amounted  to*eight  hun- 
dred and  ninety-four  thousand  twenty-nine  dollars  and  fifteen 
cents,  ($894,029.15.)  Of  the  total  amount  of  expenditures, 
reaching  one  million  eight  hundred  and  six  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  ninety-three  dollars  and  eight  cents,  ($1,806,993.08,) 
six  hundred  and  three  thousand  sixty-nine  dollars  and  fifty 
cents,  ($603,069.50,)  was  paid  in  interest  on  State  bonds,  and 
six  hundred  and  forty-five  thousand  six  hundred  dollars? 
($645,600,)  in  the  purchase  of  State  bonds. 

The  balance  in  the  treasury  on  the  first  day  of  April,  1867, 
to  the  credit  of  the  civil  list,  was  four  lumdred  thousand  four 
hundred  and  eighty-three  dollars  and  ten  cents,  ($400,483.10,) 
against  two  hundred  and  ninety-four  thousand  four  hundred 
and  one  dollars  and  five  certs,  ($294,401.05,)  in  1866;  while 
the  balance  on  the  general  list,  standing  to  the  credit  of  all 
accounts,  was  four  hundred  and  ninety-nine  thousand  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  dollars  and  nine  cents,  ($499,115.09,) 
against  three  hundred  and  fifty-three  thousand  six  hundred 
and  forty-four  dollars,  and  thirty-nine  cents,  ($353,644.39,) 
at  the  close  of  the  previous  fiscal  year. 

Tliere  has  been  a  marked  increase  in  the  taxable  property 
of  the  State  during  the  past  year,  the  grand  list  of  1866  ex- 
ceeding that  of  the  previous  year  by  thirteen  millions  nine 
hundred  and  twenty-six  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty-four 
dollars,  ($13,926,664.)     The  grand  list  of  1865  was,  in  round 


13 

numbers,  two  hundred  and  seventy-six  millions  of  dollars, 
and,  with  this  increased  valuation,  amounted  in  1866  to  some- 
thing over  two  hundred  and  ninety  millions,  including  the 
taxable  polls. 

In  view  of  the  large  amount  of  our  public  debt,  I  am  con- 
strained to  urge  upon  your  consideration  the  importance  of 
observing  the  most  rigid  economy  in  each  and  every  branch 
of  the  public  expenditure,  that  the  credit  of  the  State  may 
be  preserved,  the  burdens  of  taxation  lightened,  the  interest 
of  the  laboring  classes  subserved,  and  the  time  hastened  when 
Connecticut  shall  once  more  be  placed  in  the  proud  position, 
which  it  l>as  so  long  been  her  historic  boast  to  occupy,  of  a 
State  free^rom  debt. 

THE   SCHOOL   FUND. 

The  amount  of  the  capital  of  the  School  Fund,  according 
to  the  last  biennial  examination,  made  in  September,  1866, 
was  two  millions  forty- three  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
thirty-five  dollars  and  forty-seven  cents  (12,043,835.47). 
A  considerable  portion  of  the  fund  heretofore  loaned  in  the 
States  of  Ohio,  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  has  been  col- 
locted  and  reloaned  in  this  State,  under  the  discretionary 
power  given  the  Commissioner  by  the  last  General  Assembly, 
to  call  in  such  foreign  loans  for  reinvestment  at  home.  The 
whole  amount  of  the  principal  received  into  the  treasury 
during  the  year  and  reloaned  in  this  State,  was  one  hundred 
and  twenty-four  thousand  twenty-one  dollars  and  forty-two 
cents  (8124,021.42).  The  amount  paid,  on  the  orders  of  the 
Comptroller,  for  the  benefit  of  the  several  school  districts  in 
the  State,  and  for  salaries  and  expenses  during  the  year,  was 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  three  iiundred  and 
seventy-five  dollars  and  sixty  three  cents  (8135,375.63),  with 
a  surplus  remaining  of  fifteen  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
fifteen  dollars,  subject  to  future  orders. 

The  whole  number  of  children  entitled  to  the  benefit  of 
the  fund  by  the  last  returns,  was  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty-four,  and  a  per  capita 
dividend  was  declared  of  one  dollar  and  ten  cents  for  each 


14 

scholar  enunij^rated.  For  the  expenses  of  managhig  the 
School  Fund,  and  its  present  condition  as  compared  with  pre- 
vious biennial  statements,  together  with  the  disposition  made 
of  the  Agricultural  College  fund,  I  would  refer  you  to  the 
report  of  the  Commissioner,  which  will  be  submitted  for  j-our 
inspection.  The  School  Fund  is  a  sacred  trust,  around  which 
every  conceiveble  safeguard  should  be  tlifown,  and  it  should 
be  so  managed  as  to  admit  of  no  possible  dimunition  of  the 
principal,  whatever  may  be  the  annual  income  derived  there- 
from. 

WAE   CLAIMS. 

Upon  the  war  claims  of  the  State  which  were  outstanding 
a  year  ago,  amounting  to  seventy-five  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  five  dollars  and  ninety-five  cents  ($75,805.95)  there  has 
been  paid  by  the  General  Government  $6,750.20,  and  a  fur- 
ther sum  of  about  twenty  thousand  dollars  will,  in  the  opinion 
of  my  predecessor,  be  allowed  and  paid.  The  remainder  has 
been  rejected  under  rules  which  are  supposed  to  apply  to  all 
the  States  alike.  It  is  not  impossible  that  some  of  the  rules 
under  which  these  and  other  claims  have  been  rejected  may 
be  changed  or  relaxed,  in  which  case  a  further  sum  may  be 
obtained  at  some  future  day. 

BANKS. 

There  are  eight  Banks  only  remaining  in  the  State,  exclu- 
sive of  those  organized  under  the  National  Banking  Act, 
whose  aggregate  capital  on  the  1st  of  April  last  was  $1,970,- 
500,  with  a  circulation  amounting  to  only  $111,747.  The 
whole  number  of  National  Banks  is  eighty-two,  with  an  ag- 
gregate capital  of  $24,496,600,  making  the  total  amount  of 
banking  capital  in  the  State,  $26,467,100. 

The  condition  of  the  Savings  Banks  in  the  State,  fifty-three 
in  number,  shows  favorably  with  the  report  of  last  year,  the 
gain  in  deposits  amounting  to  $3,861,876.55.  The  whole 
amount  of  deposits  in  these  Banks  on  the  1st  day  of  January, 
1867,  was  $31,180,390.14,  while  the  market  value  of  their 
assets  amounted  to  $33,150,865.34. 


15 


RATE  OP  INTEREST. 


The  Legislatures  of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  hav- 
ing recently  changed  the  laws  of  their  States  relating  to  in- 
terest, so  as  to  admit  of  a  higher  rate  than  six  per  cent., 
■where  the  amount  is  specified  by  contract,  and  the  legal  rate 
of  interest  in  New  York  being  seven  per  cent.,  it  is  a  question 
proper  for  your  consideration  whether  our  laws  should  not  be 
so  modified  as  to  conform  to  our  monetary  surroundings,  and 
thereby  prevent  the  diversion  of  capital  from  the  State. 

RAILROADS. 

The  condition  and  management  of  the  railroads  in  the 
State,  appear  to  be  generally  satisfactory.  The  number  of . 
passengers  carried  on  the  several  roads  during  the  year  is 
considerably  in  excess  of  that  given  in  the  report  of  the  Com- 
missioners for  the  year  previous,  while  there  has  been  a  cor- 
responding increase  in  the  net  earnings  of  the  roads.  The 
number  of  casualties  is  especially  small  as  compared  with  the 
number  of  passengers  carried,  and  most  if  not  all  the  roads, 
liave  been  managed  with  a  much  greater  regard  to  the  secur- 
ity of  life  and  the  general  comfort  of  passengers  than  form- 
erly. The  commissioners  will  recommend  in  their  report 
some  slight  modifications  in  the  laws  relating  to  these  impor- 
tant thoroughfares  of  the  State,  which  will  undoubtedly  re- 
ceive your  proper  consideration. 

HUMANE  INSTITUTIONS. 

Our  Institutions  for  the  relief  of  the  suffering  and  unfortu- 
nate, continue  to  hold  a  warm  place  in  the  affections  of  our 
people.  They  are  ably  conducted,  and  have  pursued  their 
beneficent  work  during  the  past  year  with  gratifying  results. 
The  oldest  of  these,  the  American  Asylum,  for  the  education 
of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb,  at  Hartford,  has  just  completed  its 
fiftieth  year.  Seventeen  hundred  of  these  "  Children  of  Si- 
lence" have  received  the  benefit  of  its  instructions,  of  which 
number  two  hundred  and  thirty  were  from  Connecticut,  and 
one  hundred  and  ninety-five  were  aided  by  the  State.    It  has 


16 

at  present  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  pupils,  forty-four  of 
whom  are  from  this  State. 

The  whole  number  of  patients  in  the  Retreat  for  the  In- 
sane, who  have  received  during  the  year  aid  from  the  State, 
is  two  hundred  and  thirty-nine.  Of  these,  one  hundred  and 
two  have  been  discharged,  leaving  the  number  on  the  1st  day 
of  April,  1867,  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven.  A  report,  show- 
ing the  condition  of  this  Institution,  and  furnishing  valuable 
facts  for  your  information,  will  be  laid  before  you. 

GENERAL   HOSPITAL   FOR   THE   INSANE. 

Acting  on  the  report  of  the  Commission  created  in  1865, 
the  last  General  Assembly  provided  for  the  establishment  of 
a  General  Hospital  for  the  Insane  of  the  State,  and  appointed 
a  Board  of  Trustees  with  authority  to  select  a  suitable  loca- 
tion for  such  an  institution.  This  duty  the  Trustees  have 
discharged,  and  Middletown  has  been  fixed  upon  as  the  place 
of  location.  An  appropriation  of  thirty-five  thousand  dollars 
was  made  to  carry  into  execution  the  provisions  of  the  act, 
and  workmen  are  now  engaged  in  the  erection  of  a  suitable 
edifice  for  the  accommodation  of  two  hundred  patients.  An 
additional  appropriation  will  be  asked  for  the  efficient  prose- 
cution of  the  work,  and,  in  view  of  the  pressing  demand  for 
such  an  institution,  I  would  recommend  that  the  needed  ap- 
propriation be  made. 

REFORM   SCHOOL. 

From  personal  observation  I  am  satisfied  that  the  State  Re- 
form School  is  an  economical  and  well  managed  institution. 
The  report  of  the  Trustees  shows  it  to  be  in  a  flourisliing  con- 
dition, and  free  from  debt.  The  present  number  of  inmates 
is  two  hundred  and  sixty-four,  which  is  fully  equal  to  its 
capacity  of  accommodation.  The  fact  that  there  has  not  been 
a  death  among  the  pupils  during  the  past  year,  shows  that 
the  sanitary  management  of  the  school  is  in  the  highest  de- 
gree efficient.  This  institution  is  accomplishing  an  impor- 
tant work,  and  should  receive  all  needed  encouragement  and 
aid  from  the  State.     A  small  appropriation  will  be  required 


17 

for  repairs  and  improvements  in  the  buildings,  and  I  would 
recommend  that  the  same  be  granted. 

The  last  General  Assembly  appointed  three  Commissioners 
to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  establishing  an  Industrial 
Institution  for  young  vagrant  and  vicious  girls,  similar  iu 
character  to  the  Meriden  school  for  boys.  This  Commission 
will  report  in  favor  of  establishing  such  an  institution,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  the  subject  will  receive  from  you  the  consider- 
ation due  to  its  very  great  importance. 

Reports  will  be  laid  before  you  showing  the  present  condition 
of  the  Connecticut  School  for  Imbeciles,  the  Soldiers'  Orphan 
Home,  Fitch's  Home  for  Soldiers,  and  the  State  Hospitals  at 
Hartford  and  New  Haven.  All  of  these  institutions  appear 
to  be  well  managed,  and  no  doubt  merit  a  continuation  of  the 
support  they  have  received  from  the  State. 

STATE  PRISON. 

In  the  discipline  and  management  of  the  State  Prison, 
there  continues  to  be  a  high  degree  of  efficiency.  The  whole 
number  of  convicts  in  confinement  on  the  31st  of  March, 
1867,  was  two  hundred  and  seven.  The  financial  condition 
of  the  Prison  is  most  satisfactory.  The  gross  amount  of  the 
earnings  of  the  prisoners  for  the  past  year  has  been  $23,324.- 
69,  and  the  total  expenses  $22,245.84,  showing  a  net  gain  of 
$1,078.85,  after  expending  some  five  luuidrcd  dollars  in  re- 
pairs and  improvements  about  tlie  Prison. 

VITAL  STATISTICS. 

From  the  carefully  arranged  report  of  the  State  Librarian, 
it  will  be  seen  that  there  has  been  a  large  increase  of  births 
in  the  State  over  the  registration  of  the  previous  year ;  and 
what  especially  indicates  a  healthy  growth  in  our  population, 
the  number  of  births  is  greatly  in  excess  of  the  deaths.  The 
number  of  marriages  is  also  remarkable,  being  considerably 
greater  than  ever  reported  in  one  year  before.  The  year 
1866  appears  to  have  been  one  of  remarkable  general  health 
throughout  the  State.  The  information  embodied  in  these 
reports  of  the  Librarian  is  highly  valuable,  and  will  be  eagerly 

9 


18 

sought  after  by  those  interested  in  the  vital  statistics  of  the 
State. 

EDUCATION. 

The  subject  of  public  education,  important  at  all  times  to 
the  welfare  of  tlie  State,  is  continuing  to  receive  tlio  attention 
due  to  the  magnitude  of  its  interest.  The  Board  created  by 
the  law  of  18U5  has  taken  the  general  supervision  of  tlie  pub- 
lic schools,  and  it  is  believed  that  tlie  cause  of  education  has 
been  favorably  advanced  under  its  management.  The  report 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Board,  will  exhibit  in  detail  the  condi- 
tion of  these  important  State  institutions,  so  long  the  pride 
and  boast  of  our  people.  It  is  hardly  necessary  lor  me  to  add 
that  tliey  should  continue  to  receive  the  fostering  care  of  the 
Legislature. 

MILITIA. 

The  present  militia  law  of  the  State  appears  to  meet  the 
general  expectations  of  its  friends.  The  wliolo  number  of 
men  organized  into  companies  and  duly  armed  and  equipped 
under  the  law,  is  four  thousand  one  hundred  and  forty-one, 
among  whom  a  higldy  creditable  proficiency  has  been  attained 
in  drill  and  soldierly  deportment.  As  the  law  now  stands,  it 
authorizes  the  formation  of  sixty  infantry  companies.  The 
^present  number  is  forty-one,  which  would  seem  to  be  fully 
adequate  to  the  requirements  of  the  State.  The  report  of  the 
Adjutant  General  will  show  the  organization  of  the  force  in 
detail,  and  present  the  facts  necessary  to  a  correct  understand- 
ing of  this  important  branch  of  the  public  service. 

MINORS    IN    FACTORIES. 

The  practice  prevalent  in  factories  of  employing  minors  in 
violation  of  law,  is  so  universally  admitted  to  l)e  injurious  to 
their  physical  and  mental  development,  that  I  submit  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  General  Assembly  whether  it  is  not  practicahlc 
to  provide  by  further  enactment  for  the  due  enforcement  of 
the  existing  statute  to  protect  children  of  tender  years  i'roni 
such  oppressive  labor  as  deprives  them  of  the  advantages  of  a 
common  school  education. 


19 


'  THE   JUDICIARY. 

I  renew  the  recommendation  of  my  predecessor  that  provis- 
ion be  made  to  remedy  the  over-crowded  condition  of  the 
court  dockets  in  tlie  larger  counties.  In  the  counties  of  New 
Haven  and  Hartford  especially,  the  business  of  the  courts  is 
badly  in  arrears.  No  greater  benefit  can  be  conferred  upon 
the  people  of  the  State  generally,  than  to  afford  them  the 
means  of  a  speedy  and  consequently  less  expensive  ad- 
ministration of  justice  ;  and  while  I  am  too  distrustful  of  my 
own  judgment  on  the  subject  to  indicate  at  present  just  what 
is  necessary  to  remedy  the  evil,  I  shall  gladly  co-operate  in 
any  plan  of  legislation  which  may  upon  inquiry  be  found  ade- 
quate to  the  purpose. 

THE    HOURS   OF   LABOR. 

Upon  the  prodnets  of  labor  depend  the  material  prosperity 
and  happiness  of  the  people  ;  and  any  legislation  tending  to 
ameliorate  the  burdens  of  labor  can  but  promote  the  general 
welfare  of  the  commonwealth.  The  policy  of  the  State  to 
provide  by  statute  a  standard  for  a  legal  day's  labor,  where  no 
specific  contract  intervenes,  is  well  settled.  I  therefore  rec- 
ommend that  the  forty-ninth  section  of  Chapter  IV.,  of  the 
General  Statutes,  concerning  domestic  relations,  be  so  amonc^ 
ed  as  to  make  eight  hours  of  labor  done  and  performed  in  any 
one  day  by  any  one  person  in  any  meciianical  or  manufacturing, 
establishment,  a  lawful  day's  work,  unless  otherwise  agreed 
by  the  parties. 

WAGES    OF   LABOR. 

Under  the  present  law  of  foreign  attachment  in  this  State 
any  debt  due  for  personal  services,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars, 
is  exempted  from  attachment.  In  my  judgment  this  sum 
should  be  increased  ;  and  I  recommend  this  subject  to  j-our 
favorable  consideration. 

POLL   TAX. 

Recognizing  the  principle  that  taxes  should  be  assessed 
upon  projierty  and  not  upon  persons,  I  recommend  that  so 
much  of  Chapter  I.  Title  04,  of  the  General  Statutes  entitled 


20 

"An  Act   for  the  Assessment  and  Collection  of  Taxes,"  as 
relates  to  the  assessment  of  the  poll  tax,  be  repealed. 

COERCION    OF   VOTERS. 

There  is  no  subject  which  should  demand  a  more  constant 
scrutiny,  or  have  greater  safeguards  and  protection  thrown 
around  it,  than  the  constitutional  right  of  the  citizen  to  the 
elective  franchise.  It  is  a  riglit  held  sacred  in  all  free  gov- 
ernments, as  upon  its  unrestrained  and  independent  exercise 
depend  the  stability  and  permanence  of  all  free  institutions. 
It  is  believed  that  a  most  reprehensible  practice  has  grown  up 
in  certain  portions  of  the  State,  whereby  the  undue  weight 
and  influence  of  employers,  or  threats  and  intimidation  from 
them,  perform,  in  effect,  the  office  of  a  bribe  upon  voters. 
This  is  an  evil  too  intolerant  in  its  spirit,  and  too  pernicious 
in  its  character  and  influence,  to  be  permitted  to  exist,  imder 
any  pretext  or  color  of  authority  whatever,  in  a  free  repre- 
sentative government.  A  contract  for  labor  carries  with  it 
no  consideration,  pecuniary  or  otherwise,  impairing  the  right 
of  an  elector  to  vote  according  to  the  strict  letter  of  his  oath, 
"  without  respect  to  persons,  or  favor  of-  any  man."  Tliere 
has  been  a  growing  complaint  against  this  practice  in  the  last 
few  years,  and  I  would  recommend  to  your  consideration  the 
^passage  of  a  law  which  shall  effectually  reach  and  remedy  the 
evil,  and  thereby  protect  the  laboring  man  in  the  enjoyment 
*  of  this  paramount  right  of  tlie  citizen. 

CONCLUSION. 

Relying  upon  the  Infinite  Power  which  controls  the  destiny 
of  States  and  of  individuals,  for  wisdom  and  guidance,  let  us 
so  perform  our  duties  that  our  labors  shall  receive  the  appro- 
bation of  those  who  have  placed  in  our  keeping  the  honor 
and  welfare  of  the  State. 

JAMES  E.  ENGLISH. 

Hartford,  May  1,  1867. 


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